I read the manuscript of this, and once I started reading, I could not put it down! This story is EPIC, and I can not wait to see and hold the final published book. The storytelling is superb, the settings are historically accurate (Gen Xers wil greatly appreciate that), the relationship building is phenomenal and the main characters are all lovable and full of heart. Adults and kids alike are going to love it. It will be read (and taught) in middle schools and Book Clubs and it will evoke all kinds of interesting discussions, from ethics, to self-care, to the rules of responsible time travel.

The story is set in August 1999 in Delaware. It's Michael's 12th birthday and he is dreadfully worried about what will happen when the clocks switch over to 12:00am January 1st, 2000. He has seen all kinds of news stories saying that computer systems might shut down, banks could cease to function, food might become scarce, infrastructure could collapse... So, he's trying to prepare the best he can, but he doesn't know exactly what he needs to do. Naturally, the adults in his life aren't worried. They tell him not to worry about it, which frustrates him even more.

He sees a suspicious stranger - a teenage boy - in his apartment complex, and he is a little bit frightened (and curious) about him. Later, he and his babysitter (Gibby) confront the stranger. His name is Ridge, he is 16 years old and he is very, VERY odd! With wit and charm, they find out why.... He has TIME TRAVELED from the year 2199!! Of course, Michael and Gibby have questions about the future, but Ridge will not tell them anything, for fear of breaking the spacetime continuum! Ridge knows he must return to 2199 right away (he didn't exactly have permission to travel, and his mom is going to be SO MAD) but he is curious about 1999. He wants to stay and explore a little. He's lucky he ran into Michael and Gibby.

I really enjoyed this book. The three main characters get along harmoniously. There is very little drama. And when other kids in their midst create drama, they protect each other. It is refreshing. Their ordinary adventures turn out to have a greater significance in the world. It left me feeling hopeful about the future. An inspiring read!

I enjoyed this book, but was thrown by the ending. There are many exciting twists and turns as Margot tries to get to *who* was the murderer and I was hanging on every step of the way, cheering her on every time she got a clue or lead. I was secretly hoping for a spark between Margot and Pete, perhaps to provide some levity from the heavy plot (finding the person who is murdering little girls). I was compelled to finish it because I wanted the murderer brought to justice!

The ending was completely unexpected.

During their conversation, Billy told Margot that being a parent makes you fiercely protective of your kids, but adds that condescending bit of 'you'll know when you become a parent' which really does a great job of showing how much of a jerk Billy is. In the epilogue, we find out that he accidentally knocked his daughter down the stairs (when he meant to knock his wife down the stairs). His first instinct (as anyone's should be) is to see if she is still alive and call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Any normal person would try to rush her to the hospital. Then she comes to, says something, he gets triggered, flips out and kills her instead. What?! I also found it extremely weird what Chrissy did - removing the dead body from the scene and dropping it in a ditch. Why?! She was protecting Jace from being blamed, but would a normal person do this? Would a mother do this to her child? I think a normal person would call the police; maybe lie about Jace's presence at the scene, but not mess with the body like Chrissy did. Chrissy and Billy were woefully unprepared to be parents and their stories are each very sad; their actions show that they are not normal in the head and perhaps never learned to deal with their extreme emotions. So the twist is that the murderer was just under our noses all along, he was just schizophrenic (or mentally ill in some way). But he goes free and isn't caught, even after he goes on to kill again (Chrissy). As the story ends suddenly, there is not resolution that Billy was ever caught, but Margot is a good investigator so I'm pretty sure she had the means to make it happen. 

 

Overall, I wish the story had 1 more "wrap up" chapter just to tie up some loose ends and possibly give a positive outlook to a possible Margot and Pete relationship.

This book has tips on forming good habits. If you have ever read a book or website or used an app about forming good habits, save your time as this book will only be a review for you.

I had a problem with the general tone of this book. The author made some sexist and fatphobic comments and treated some serious issues (ex. drug abuse) carelessly. He then included comments from Scott Adams (the Dilbert Creator who made racist comments) about his personal habits (so basic). I was disgusted as the author glorified this racist person, then brought him up again later in the book as if to say 'Look, a famous person in my book!' without doing the due diligence of finding out that Adams has said some incredibly terrible things. 

The book itself felt rushed and unpolished. Maybe he will improve his next book by 1%.

The story is interspersed with drawings, which you can examine for clues that the main character might have missed! Very cleverly written. I was happy with the ending.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be very well researched and thoughtful about how grocery stores are run, the journey of the actual products that are sold there and the discussion on the ethics of slave trade, factory farms, trucking industry, etc. 

The author brings awareness of some pretty bad stuff in the industries that feed into grocery stores. Reading about how horrible the trucking industry is made me never want to buy anything again that has to travel on a truck. But I realized that is pretty hard to do since most everything is trucked in. The fishing industry overseas using trafficked people for slave work made me never want to eat another shrimp again. Big companies like Amazon buying Whole Foods and stripping away the value to line Jeff's pockets? Not cool.

So the answer here lies more in changing the systems. Fair pay for honest workers; fire the abusers; racial and sexual equality; tax the ultra rich so the money can help those in need. These are big issues that affect every industry.

The author also brings awareness of some pretty awesome people. A woman who helped develop a product and worked hard to bring it to market. Her positive attitude and stick-to-itiveness brought something to the world that people love. And his coworkers from Whole Foods who worked hard and did their best? Those people are the ones I want to see succeeding in this world.